Marijuana Legalization Sociopathy
In my experience,
advocates of recreational marijuana usually want it
legalized for sociopathic reasons. I say this because
their arguments often go something like this:
"Legalizing marijuana is a good idea because it will
generate lots of tax revenue for the State. Also, it
will reduce government spending on incarcerating drug
offenders, thus saving billions of tax dollars.
Marijuana should definitely be legalized and taxed not
only to save tax dollars, but also to earn
tax dollars for the State. I say we regulate and tax
marijuana. Marijuana should definitely be taxed.
Also, the State should tax marijuana."
Marijuana advocates are the only people who
constantly demand to be taxed. I don't understand why
they have this lust for self-taxation. They're
obsessed with it. One can hardly read a
pro-legalization article without hearing about how
much revenue the government will collect via
taxation. Hey here's a thought: How about we
legalize marijuana and not tax it?
Prostitution advocates don't demand to be taxed. Gun
advocates don't demand to be taxed. Abortion advocates
don't demand to be taxed. Gay marriage advocates
don't demand to be taxed. Yet pro-marijuana people
almost always do. I find this self-tax obsession
puzzling.
Saying that marijuana should be
legalized because it will generate tax revenue for the
State is like saying "Jews shouldn't be gassed and
incinerated by the millions because it is more
profitable to use those ovens to make pizza." Oh really? Is that
why people shouldn't be systematically butchered and
shoved into ovens? Because it's more profitable
to do otherwise? Or how about this: "Little
girls should not be fed to alligators because
alligators do better on a diet of beef and chicken."
To offer that as a serious argument for why children
should not be ripped apart by wild animals is
sociopathic. It completely shoves aside the most basic
principle of morality: concern for the welfare of
fellow human beings.
In
my opinion, the primary reason recreational
marijuana should be legalized is to stop the
government from destroying the lives and
families of non-violent drug offenders. Any
reasons for legalization that have to do with
tax revenue are sociopathic and trivial by
comparison.
Thousands of non-violent people who have hurt no one
are currently rotting in prison cages. Their so-called
"crime"? Intent to sell or distribute a plant that
induces relaxation, pain relief, and mild euphoria.
How can this possibly be a punishable crime in a
civilized society? If consuming marijuana is
harmful and/or dangerous, that risk is for the
consumer to weigh and deal with, not the government.
Skydiving is dangerous, rock-climbing without ropes is
dangerous, scuba diving is dangerous. Why is the
government not banning those things to protect the
public? Buying or selling marijuana in quantity
will likely get you years of prison time. Why
is a person thrown in prison merely for engaging in
a voluntary, peaceful business transaction with
another adult? It's not like he's
selling explosive vests, anthrax, or something else
designed to cause malicious harm or death.
When someone is thrown in prison, not only is his
liberty taken away but he's housed with the worst
people of society. A peaceful, honest, non-violent
individual essentially has his life ruined by
incarceration. He is ripped away from his family and
housed with rapists, gang-members, violent felons, and
murderers. His children become fatherless and
his significant other is suddenly alone. Furthermore,
he can't work to pay his bills, and if he can't pay
his bills, his finances are ruined and his house gets
taken away. The financial and emotional health of the
entire family is ruined and permanently damaged. And
for what? For the "crime" of wanting to feel good by
getting high. The insanity of marijuana
prohibition is appalling.
Cartel and street
dealer drug violence associated with marijuana's black
market has left a mountain of corpses in its wake.
Drug prohibition in general is the modern-day version
of witch hunts and slavery. If I could have my
way, I would legalize all recreational drugs and let
all non-violent drug offenders out of prison. Defund
the DEA and use that money to fund rehab clinics to help people hooked on things like heroin, cocaine, and meth.